Pio Xl Glacier

The Commodore had said that he expected us to be at the Pio Xl glacier (named after the pope of the same name), at 8:00AM. We awoke to a misty rainy day, so we decided that we would give the outside decks a miss for now, and headed up to the Commodore Club. Luckily others had not had the same idea, and we were able to get front row seats where we peered though the rain soaked windows out into the mist and low lying clouds, and strained hard to see the outside world. Suddenly it looked like maybe, maybe the blob we saw before us was the glacier, and sure enough the Commodore announced that we were at our destination.

It was raining heavily, and difficult to see out of the windows, but we could make out the outline of the largest glacier in the South America. No blue ice gleaming in the sun today. I couldn’t resist trying to get a better look at the glacier, and went out in the rain at the front of deck 9 (the first time I have been in the gym) to take a video. It was really quite nasty out, so I grabbed a towel from the gym and retreated back to the Commodore Club. The view did improve a bit and we were able to see just how big the glacier was. Dada gave another commentary on the glaciers of the South Patagonia ice field, and then we turned around and headed down the fjord again.

Brian went to the gym, and I sat in the cabin watching the passing scenery. It was beautiful. We were very close to the shore, and although it was misty and rainy, I could see hundreds of little waterfalls cascading down the sides of the barren hills. Every now and then I would get a glimpse of jagged snow covered peaks in the distance through breaks in the low lying clouds.

After Brian returned to the cabin we went to hear Robert Cowley’s talk on “Chile from Top to Bottom”. It was very informative and entertaining as usual, and I learnt a lot about a country I hadn’t thought about since doing “O” level geography years ago.

Penguins were on sale today! Straight after the talk we went to the shop to pick up a penguin. This time I found a happy (not to mention expensive) little lapis lazuli penguin to take home with us.

After lunch we entered the Gulf of Trinidad. Gone were the jagged peaks, and the swell returned, with 6-meter waves. The Commodore made an announcement that everyone should take care because we would be pitching for a while, but then would move north into calmer waters. We spent the afternoon back in the Commodore Club, and enjoyed watching the waves and the pitching of the ship. Alas, there were no waves crashing over the bow and hitting the windows, but it was a fun ride anyway.

The ship was still pitching and rolling when we went on our late afternoon walk around the Promenade Deck. After 3 circuits I decided that I had done more than enough walking. I had been walking on a zigzag path around the ship, and at times it felt like I was going up a steep hill. Quite enough exercise for one day. Brian did his usual 10 circuits.

Our tablemates suggested that we should use our Diamond lunch vouchers for dinner at La Piazza tonight. We met up in the Commodore Club for pre dinner drinks, and then had a very tasty dinner. We were seated right at the end of the room by the window, which was a very quiet area, and actually was quite a pleasure after the nightly hustle and bustle on the Britannia Dining Room. Szilvia had arranged for our bottles of wine to be sent up from the dining room to await us in the Lido.

I ordered the flat bread appetizer (with fresh figs, goat’s cheese and basil), and it was huge. It would have been perfect for a meal by itself, so I really didn’t do justice to the main course, however I still managed the desserts. Although the main dining room is great, it is good to have a change.

The ship was still pitching and rolling, but not creaking, when we went down to the cabin. Wind was whistling though our door to the balcony. There didn’t seem to be anything we could do to stop it. It was not an unpleasant sound so we just accepted it, and were rocked to sleep with the whistling sound in the background.